Anton Lander waived, Dillon Simpson returned to AHL as Oilers prepare to welcome back some injured players

Is it three strikes and you’re out for Anton Lander? For the third time in three years the Edmonton Oilers have placed the Swedish centre on waivers. Twice he survived that process and found a new lease on life with the Oil, but ultimately he hasn’t made himself indispensible enough to survive an impending influx of bodies returning from the injury list.

The second-round pick from way back in 2009 passed through waivers at the start of the 2014-15 season, then returned in the second half to post solid offensive numbers under interim coach Todd Nelson. But he was unable to sustain that in 2015-16, posting miserable numbers of 61 GP, 1-2-3, -9. He was waived at the end of training camp this season, cleared again, but stayed in Edmonton and quickly found his way back into the line-up for the injury-depleted squad, which was missing a variety of bottom-six forwards like Matt Hendricks, Iiro Pakarinen, and promising rookie Drake Caggiula. The natural centre found himself on left wing, playing the d-zone mule role alongside Mark Letestu. He performed well in the faceoff circle, leading the team with a 57.1% success rate in 126 draws at this point in time. He ranked second among forwards in shorthanded ice time, and matched last year’s boxcars in just 16 games with an interesting line of 1-2-3, +4. But in recent games he found his ice time waning, especially at even strength, and his skill set is decidedly of less value to a squad that has been constantly trailing in games than it was to the team that was protecting leads earlier in the season.

In his most recent run Lander played his 200th NHL game, making him the most successful Oilers second-round pick since Jeff Petry in 2006. Think about that as you ponder the reasons this club has been skating in quicksand for lo these many years.

Lander’s departure surely clears space for Matt Hendricks, a veteran grinder who checks many of the same boxes — can play left wing or centre, good on faceoffs, experienced on the penalty kill, accustomed to being buried deep in his own territory. Hendricks, 35, is ten years older than Lander, a little more injury-prone but with more of a reputation as a lunch-bucket player.

Hendricks was hurt in preseason, one of many depth players (Pakarinen, Caggiula, Brandon Davidson, Mark Fayne) to get banged up in the first part of October. All suffered serious enough injuries that Hendricks will be the first of that group to return, in the second half of November.

Meanwhile, on the back end Kris Russell, hurt two weeks ago, is back skating with the club and may soon be ready to go. One indication is that the club today returned Dillon Simpson to Bakersfield after a stint on the big-league roster which, unfortunately foir him, didn’t include any game time whatsoever. Russell has been missed by a team that has been leaking oil in the defensive zone. When he is ready to draw in it’s an open question as to whether he will replace the man who replaced him, rookie Matt Benning, or veteran Eric Gryba. Benning has impressed in a sheltered role on the third pairing, while Gryba has struggled somewhat since seeing his own role elevated in Russell’s absence. The robust veteran had a very strong start to the season in the #6 role and may well return there, or perhaps split time with the more mobile Benning based on coach’s decision.

No word yet on the immediate status of Drake Caggiula, who has never been on the roster, injured list or otherwise, since suffering a hip flexor injury late in what had been a very impressive preseason. Best guess is he may go down to Bakersifeld for some conditioning, but with the big club struggling mightily for offensive production, that stay might be a short one.

At 9-8-1 the Oilers remain firmly in the mix in the weak Western Conference, but have been taking on water at an alarming rate in November. Any influx of healthy reinforcements is a welcome development after the group that started the season so promisingly has gone stale.

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